MOPOKAI - PHALABORWA

The first time I saw the Phalaborwa landscape was from the air. As the aeroplane cut through thick cotton-like clouds, a vast plain opened below, scattered with rock eruptions and mineral-rich koppies catching streaks of sunlight. Across the landscape, countless stone forms balanced against the horizon like dancers held in suspension.

Of all these koppies, Mopokai and Mapotweng immediately drew my attention. Standing side by side near the Gravelotte road, they rose like twins from the plain. On the afternoon of this photograph, I stood below Mopokai, once home to the baPhalaborwa leadership, including the families of Monyela, Pilusa and Chief Malatji. Its massive rounded form climbed to a pinnacle of sheer granite, carrying both authority and presence.

The heat that day was oppressive. Cicadas filled the bush with sound while giant grasshoppers clambered over me, their thorned legs tearing at my skin and even shredding the curve of my Panama hat. Then the air changed. The temperature dropped as Nimbus began to glide in, unsettling the creatures into sudden flight.

A wind-shaped marula tree stood above the embankment, its ripe fruit scenting the air alongside the wild potato shrub. As I assembled my equipment, guinea fowl burst from the branches below a pair of martial eagles circling high above the koppie. I waited for hours. When Nimbus finally settled over Mopokai, her presence filled the bush with a sandalwood-like depth, holding the landscape in shadow for almost two hours before the sun returned and scattered her into the wind.